The Astrocade is an second generation video game console and simple computer system designed by a team at Midway, the videogame division of Bally. It was marketed only for a limited time before Bally decided to exit the market. The rights were later picked up by a third-party company, who re-released it and sold it until around 1983. The Astrocade is particularly notable for its very powerful graphics capabilities for the time of release, and for the difficulty in accessing those capabilities.
Originally referred to as the Bally Home Library Computer, it was released in 1977 but available only through mail order. Delays in the production meant none of the units actually shipped until 1978, and by this time the machine had been renamed the Bally Professional Arcade. In this form it sold mostly at computer stores and had little retail exposure (unlike the Atari VCS). In 1979 Bally grew less interested in the arcade market and decided to sell off their Consumer Products Division, including development and production of the game console.
Browsing the Collection
There are 30 images for the Bally Professional Arcade and Astrocade, all of them games.
Reviewer:
zeke1312
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November 9, 2015 Subject:
Trivia
I ordered a Bally Home Library in 1977. I finally received one in 1978 which promptly failed within a few hours. I received a 2nd unit which failed after
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a few hours. The reason? Heat failure. The PCB was sandwiched between 2 foam aluminum covered shells to meet FFC (I assume) requirements. Three ICs ran hot which I attached heat sinks to. All was well after that. (and I threw away the shells).